Tianhuo
Tianhuo is a Longma who was chosen as a Key Keeper. Biography High above the clouds atop the highest of mountains lies the diminutive Empire of Huoshan (known to other Fœnecians as The Volcano), built over the gaping maw of an active, lava-spewing crater. The Empire’s subjects are Longmas, a very proud race who are half horse, half dragon. Every Longma is a member of the military, sworn not only to protect their beloved Empress (Daughter of Heaven, Empress of the Miniscule yet Mighty Realm of Magnanimous Magma, Lava, and Fire) and their honored volcanic home, but all of Fœnum itself. It took the Empress not even a moment to make her choice for Key Keeper. Her name is Tianhuo, and amongst her people, she is undoubtedly the greatest the noble half-breeds have to offer. As Captain of the Imperial Guard, Tianhuo is the frontline defender of her Royal Highness! Personality For certain she is an intimidating sight, emitting stoic confidence, but not a hint of arrogance. She has no disdain for her opponents. In fact, she greatly admires skill and strength and cannot enjoy a duel unless she faces a combatant who offers her a challenge... no one is more disciplined, no one more determined, and even the Predators’ Champion should beware! Color Palettes See Tianhuo/Color Palettes NPC Names See Arcade NPC Names Abilities & Fighting Style Tianhuo, Captain of the Imperial Guard strikes from above, below and all around! Flexible, aerodynamic, and explosive, she is a real firecracker! Flight-based attacks keep your opponent’s head in the clouds! Cancel any and all of your attacks into her Firecracker Magic attack to overwhelm your opponents, or use it to move quickly across the stage. Playing As Tianhuo As Tianhuo, your primary objective is getting in your opponent's face and not leaving them with a chance to respond or recover, making her a rushdown type of character. However, as such, her strongest defense is her unrelenting offense, so a player who wants to main her will have to spend some time learning her combos and practice canceling with her Firecracker Attack. Experienced fighting game players will recognize Tianhuo as a rushdown character, and with that there are a lot of assumptions that will be made about the person behind the controller. Rushdown character players are often thought of as impulsive and easily baited, so more than any other character, your job is to break that mould and take advantage of their assumptions. If Oleander is poking at range with Fel Spark, keep on guard and push block your way in; save your Firecracker Attacks for when you are finally within range. If an Arizona is dashing in and short-hopping back, wait for them to get just close enough to properly combo. They will do everything that they can to bait out a poke that they can punish, so don't let them. Tianhuo is a martial artist and exhibits discipline in battle; you should as well. Punish your opponent's mistakes and teach them the error of their ways. Playing Against Tianhuo Tianhuo has significant utility and a really good Tianhuo player laughs at the juggle decay meter and your pain as you struggle to tech out of their combos. However, Tianhuo has a significant weakness in that her greatest utility, her Firecracker Attacks, are limited in their usage and are not the best gap closers. In addition, a good Tianhuo player can low profile while dashing and avoid projectiles. The trick to fighting Tianhuo is to zone her as much as you can and bait out either her Firecracker attack or her low profile dash, then punish as they recover. Rushdown players can be impulsive and will want to go in for the poke, so you need to be patient and use that impulsiveness to your advantage. Remember that Tianhuo is at her strongest when she is in her opponent's face and on the offensive, so keep your guard up and don't let her close on you because once the combo starts, it is unlikely it will end any time soon. Matchups Vs. Velvet Velvet eats Tianhuo for breakfeast, lunch, and dinner. Her zoning capabilities are among the strongest in the game and a good Velvet player will not let you anywhere near them, and being zoned is Tanhuo's greatest weakness. Start the fight strong and do not let up the pressure, otherwise you will lose very badly. Vs. Oleander Like Velvet, Tianhuo struggles hard against Oleander. The majority of Oleander's normal attacks are well outside of the range of your normal attacks, and a good Oleander will keep themselves positioned where you can't corner them with Teleport B. Oleander's chapter traps will also give you a very difficult time since they will limit where you can safely approach from. However, Oleander requires Magic Meter in order to lay them, so they will likely attempt to read from their book early in the fight after zoning you across the screen. Identify when they're going to try to read their book and close as fast as you are able. Vs. Arizona This is probably the strongest matchup Tianhuo has. Arizona's primary combat focus is ground based, and Tianhuo focuses on aerial combat. You can easily bait out and avoid Arizona's ground stomp, but be ready for that lasso as a follow-up. If the lasso whiffs, punish them brutally. Vs. Paprika A good Paprika is an unpredictable nightmare to deal with, so a Tianhuo in this matchup needs to be ready for her. Be ready for her to either run offscreen and body slam you or try to zone you out with gifts, and watch for her tell that signals which direction she will be coming from when she uses her super. Vs. Pom Good Pom players will apply as much ranged pressure as they can, but they should be easier than other zoners to close on using her Fly ability. Trivia * She is the only playable character that can fly. * Tianhuo is based off of the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic character, Rainbow Dash.